Sweet Bites

Chapter 04: Spider

…

"Ouch! Don't press so hard. Be gentle," Johan hissed, but Seoyeon pressed harder, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him. "Aw! What the f—" She cut him off, her voice sharp.

"Shut up! This is all your fault," she snapped. He leaned back, running a hand through his messy hair, sighing in frustration.

"Seoyeon, how many times must I tell you? It wasn't on purpose! You jumped into me, remember? Why are you blaming me? Aish, seriously?" He threw his hands up in exasperation, clearly wanting to avoid further argument. His eyes, though, seemed to hold the truth, but Seoyeon's distrust lingered.

"Fine, I believe you," she muttered, moving closer to dab the disinfectant gently on his wound, "But if I find out you're lying, I swear I'll beat you to death."

What had led to this moment? Let's revisit the events.

Flashback

Johan carefully helped Seoyeon to her feet as they reached her apartment. He went to put a hand around her waist to steady her, but she shook her head and limped toward the door, retrieving her keys. She hesitated after unlocking the door, unsure whether to invite him in. He had helped her today, so she decided to offer him a brief respite. Turning, she saw him turning away, about to leave.

"Johan…" she called out. He paused, turning back with a teasing smile. "Um… do you want to come in?" she asked, uncertain. He slowly walked back, his hands casually in his pockets, a gesture she found strangely captivating.

"Sure, but does this mean you forgive me?" His smirk was playful, but she shook her head firmly.

"No," she stated. He sighed.

"You carried me all the way from school. I thought you might want to rest here before you go. Aren't you tired?" she asked. He shrugged, genuinely seeming unfazed. Not a single bead of sweat marred his brow. This made her wonder:

Am I really that light?

Clearing her throat, she continued, "Okay… then you can—" A sudden clap of thunder, followed by a torrential downpour, interrupted them. "What the—" she quickly stopped herself from cursing, pulling Johan inside before he got drenched.

"Stay here until the rain stops," she said, closing the door and heading to the kitchen, leaving him in the living room.

Johan looked around her apartment, his eyes landing on framed photos of Seoyeon and her parents on a shelf near the TV. He approached, drawn to a particular picture—her parents, radiating joy while holding a baby Seoyeon. A smile touched his lips. He carefully replaced the photo and settled onto the couch.

Meanwhile, Seoyeon, engrossed in preparing hot chocolate for them both, didn't hear him approach the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he asked, startling her.

"s**t!" she jumped, nearly knocking over the mugs. Some hot chocolate splashed onto his white shirt.

He winced. "Aw!"

"You startled me," she said, grabbing tissues to clean the spill.

"And you're such a chicken," he muttered, frowning at the stain.

"Yah, I'm not a chicken!" she retorted, playfully punching his chest. He didn't flinch, only chuckling.

He didn't understand why he wasn't angry; she'd ruined his shirt. He found her reaction unexpectedly cute, but she misinterpreted his amusement, thinking he found her weak.

Am I that weak, or does he just have a rock-hard chest? she wondered, avoiding his gaze and tossing the used tissues at him. She headed upstairs to her parents' room, with him trailing behind.

She grabbed one of her father's shirts from the closet and threw it at him. "Wear that," she said, arms crossed. He rolled his eyes.

"Do you have to throw everything at me?" he asked. She smirked, intending to annoy him further, but her eyes widened when he pulled up his shirt, revealing a well-defined physique, complete with six-pack abs.

She quickly turned away, mortified at her own gawking.

Stupid, she thought.

"Yah! At least wait until I leave!" she mumbled, rubbing her heated cheeks. He chuckled again.

"I thought you'd appreciate the view," he said, emphasizing the word "view," making her scrunch up her face.

She was about to leave when something under the bed caught her eye—a box containing old family photo albums. She suddenly felt a wave of longing for her parents, who were always away on business trips.

Ignoring Johan, she crouched to reach the box, but her short arms proved inadequate. Sighing, she turned to the side, stretching to reach it, oblivious to Johan's internal struggle. He had caught a glimpse of her underwear.

She was so focused on the box that she didn't realize she was bending over in a short skirt. Her hand landed on something big, fluffy, and hairy. It moved, and something intertwined with her fingers. She recoiled, seeing the source of the movement—a large spider, the biggest she'd ever encountered.

"Aaaaarrggghhh!" she screamed.

Johan was jolted by the high-pitched scream. "W-what's wrong?!" he asked, his eyes widening in horror as he saw the spider clinging to her hand.

"Johan, help me! Help me!" she yelled, frantically trying to remove the spider. Panic seized them both.

"Don't come near me!" he shouted.

"You coward! Help me!" she growled, raising her hand with the spider toward his face. His scream echoed, rivaling any horror movie actress, and to her surprise, the spider, startled by the sound, released her hand and fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious.

They stared at each other, then at the motionless spider, before taking deep breaths to regain their composure.

"How did that even get here?" Seoyeon asked, placing a hand on her chest. She turned to see Johan leaning against the nightstand, still fixated on the spider.

"Hey, why—" she began, but another scream erupted from Johan as the spider moved.

"Ahh!" He pointed, causing her to scream and leap onto him again, this time from fear. He lost his balance, falling onto his butt with her straddling him, accidentally biting his lip.

"Where is it?! Get it away!" she cried, clinging to him, eyes squeezed shut, oblivious to his head being pressed against her chest.

"Yah, get off me! You're killing me!" he yelled, his voice muffled. She was still screaming.

Today had been a nightmare for Johan. He'd been crashed into, had hot chocolate spilled on him, faced a terrifying spider, and now found himself pinned beneath a screaming Seoyeon. Despite the chaos, the feel of her body against his was undeniably arousing. He tried to subtly tap her waist to signal her to move, but she remained frantic. Desperate for air, he smacked her butt, which finally broke through her panic.

She quickly pulled away, and he coughed, gasping for breath, before glaring at her. The spider had vanished.

Just as he was about to speak, her hand connected with his face.

Slap!

"Pervert!"

"What the hell? You jumped on me and almost killed me with your boobs, you nerd monkey," he hissed, holding his cheek. She blushed crimson at his words.

Realization washed over her.

"Sorry," she murmured, her eyes falling to his bleeding lip.

End Flashback